Eastern Pequot Tribe Names New Financial Backer

July 08, 1997|By LYN BIXBY; Courant Staff Writer

The Eastern Pequot Tribe, which is asking the federal government for recognition as a sovereign nation, has found a new financial backer -- Abraham Gosman, a 68- year-old entrepreneur reputed to be one of the nation's wealthiest people.

Gosman, whose fortune was estimated last year at $480 million by Forbes magazine for its list of the 400 richest Americans, is the chairman of Meditrust, the nation's largest health care real estate investment trust. At the end of last year, Meditrust, based in Needham, Mass., had assets of about $2.3 billion and investments in 408 facilities in 38 states.

Lawrence E. Wilson, a member of the Eastern Pequot Tribal Council and the tribe's chief executive officer, was elated in an interview Monday.

``To be able to point to someone like that who is standing behind you in the important efforts of this tribe -- particularly the federal recognition and assisting us in laying the groundwork for the economic development -- that's a very exciting thing,'' Wilson said.

Gosman's funding, he said, will allow the tribe to hire the best professionals, such as anthropologists, to support its petition for federal recognition before the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The Eastern Pequots have reached the top of the bureau's list of petitions that are ready for active consideration. Once consideration begins, a final decision is likely to take one to two years.

Gosman and his associates could not be reached for comment Monday.

Gosman is the third financial backer for the 650-member tribe, which has a 235-acre reservation in North Stonington, a short distance from Foxwoods Resort Casino on the reservation of the Mashantucket Pequots. The two tribes are closely related.

The Eastern Pequots' last backer, First American Casino Corp. of Minnesota, sued the tribe this spring, claiming violations of an agreement that gave First American the exclusive right to finance, develop and manage a $27.5 million ``gaming enterprise.'' The tribe, according to the lawsuit, breached the agreement by negotiating with other parties.

The management agreement with First American said the company was to receive 25 percent to 30 percent of net income, depending on the type of gambling. The agreement also said the tribe had to terminate an earlier agreement with another company to sign with First American.

Wilson said the tribe is seeking dismissal of the First American lawsuit as having no merit.

Last week Wilson announced that the tribe had secured financing, ``well into the millions of dollars,'' for its recognition and business development efforts, but he declined to identify the backer.

Wilson did say at that time that the backer had created a new company, Chance Ventures Inc., to work with the Eastern Pequots. Documents filed with the corporations division of the Secretary of the State's office showed that Gosman is the president and director of Chance Ventures Inc.

He was introduced to the Eastern Pequots by lawyers at a Boston firm used by the tribe.

``This is a tribe with potential,'' Wilson said. ``And I think Mr. Gosman took a look at what our sister tribes have done in the area, the Mohegans, the Mashantuckets, and recognized that there is an opportunity of similar magnitude that awaits this tribe.''